Should You Hire a Virtual Assistant to Be Your Bookkeeper?

Whether you’re the owner of a big or small operation, mom and pop or corporate, whether you run an office of five hundred or a home office for two, there is one common thread among all entrepreneurs: You absolutely need to manage your money well!

I’m sure 90% of us may not have been trained in the art of reconciling, reporting, and making sure everything is “allocated in the right category.” Unless your business is an accounting business, you started your big idea because there is a product or service you feel passionately about — not because you enjoy categorizing expenses.

Let’s be real, besides the people that actually wake up every morning to do that job, I bet none of us wakes up with the urge to spend a day sorting through purchases and receipts. Right?

And that’s okay! Because, boy, do I have a solution for you: You can hire a virtual assistant to help you with your bookkeeping.

Why Do I Need a Bookkeeper?

You may need some convincing to hire a bookkeeping virtual assistant. Perhaps in your mind, all you see are more dollar signs flying out the window. I get it. I’ve been there. But, trust me. After these reasons, you will be asking why you didn’t do it sooner.

Collect Long-Term Savings

Poor money management is one thing that can sink your ship faster than you can patch the hole, and finding someone that can handle the ins and outs that keep your business above water is key.

Hiring a bookkeeper will save you money in the long run.

With the data they organize and reports they can pull, you’ll easily be able to target high spend areas and look for ways to manage your money more efficiently. Not to mention, the cost of hiring a bookkeeping virtual assistant is way less than hiring a full-time employee.

Save Precious Time

Who has time to manage every single little mundane task for their business? I sure don’t. When you’re just starting out, managing it all may be, well, manageable. But once your ship sets sail, you’re off tending to customers and keeping things on course, checking off each item in your QuickBooks account will come dead last on your to-do list. Hiring a virtual assistant to be your bookkeeper to check off those tasks will save you time, stress, and a huge headache when the end of the year rolls around.

What Does a Bookkeeper Do?

What is it exactly that bookkeepers do? How are they different from a CPA and what can you expect from them? Here are a few ways you can use your virtual assistant’s bookkeeping skills.

During the Day-to-Day

You know those tedious tasks that need to be done or your business may hit an iceberg and sink? Yes, virtual assistants do those. Bookkeepers categorize daily expenses into manageable and understandable labels, pay bills, generate and send invoices to clients, collect payments, and keep an eye on what revenue is on its way in vs. what’s heading out the door. Not to mention they can gladly help you run payroll and send you weekly reports and snapshots walking you through where you where all your money went that week.

At the End of the Month

At the end of the month, your bookkeeper’s job is all about reconciliations. That is, making sure your bank statement matches what your financial software shows, deleting any duplicate entries, researching or asking questions on anything that may show up in your software inaccurately, and once again, passing a fine eye over all transactions to make sure they are categorized correctly.

The end of the month is also a great time for a bookkeeper to send you the infamous Profit & Loss Statement and Balance Sheet to look over and see how that month turned out for you.

At the End of the Year

The last trick your amazing virtual assistant bookkeeper has up their sleeve is all the end of year wrap up. Hire a bookkeeping VA to prepare all reports for your accountant to look over, review anything with you that might seem questionable, collect any business expenses you paid out of your own pocket, and even prepare tax forms like 1099’s for subcontractors. They’ll package it all up and send it off to your accountant to handle the rest.

What Doesn’t a Bookkeeper Do?

All that help sounds awesome, right? What can’t your fabulous VA do? Let’s finish off with what tasks a typical bookkeeper doesn’t perform.

All Things Legal

Your bookkeeper may be awesome at preparing and evaluating reports, but one thing you will want to pass off to a CPA is the legal side of your finances. Any questions or concerns you have regarding major operational law should be directed to your local accountant.

Everything Tax-Related

Your bookkeeper is great at crunching numbers and giving your accountant what they need at the end of the year, but it’s the accountant themselves who will deal with those end-of-year taxes officially.

Big Business Decisions

While bookkeepers are well versed in all areas of your business, and can even analyze some numbers and give you some advice, it may be best to get high-level advice and forecasting from an accountant. CPAs are great at providing a more detailed review and analysis of your financial reports and help you see the big picture for the future of your company.

At the end of the day, whether you are a multi-million dollar tycoon or a barber working from his garage, managing your business’s finances well can mean the difference between success and failure. And with all the time you put into getting your dream off the ground, you can’t afford to not have your books in order.

With the financial help, time-saving assistance, and hands-on expertise of a bookkeeping virtual assistant, you’ll wonder how you lasted so long without them!